Subjunctive in Adjective Clauses / El subjuntivo en cláusulas adjetivas

An adjective clause is a group of words –containing a verb– that tells something about a noun. This noun to which the clause refers is called its antecedent:
 I admire those women ... who stand for their rights.
 antecedent              adjective clause            

The subjunctive is used in an adjective clause when the antecedent is someone or something whose
existence is unknown, hypothetical or uncertain from the point of view of the speaker

Necesito un libro que me explique esto. No hay novelas que me interesen. ¿Hay alguien que tenga sugerencias? Escoge la clase que más te guste. Busco un secretario que sepa francés. (no personal a: it's not a definite person)

I need a (some) book that explains this. There are no novels that may interest me. Is there anyone who may have any suggestions? Choose whichever class you like best. I am looking for a secretary who knows French.

• If the antecedent is known to exist, the indicative is used:

Busco al secretario que sabe francés. Necesita el libro que explica esto. Hay novelas que me interesan. Aquí hay alguien que necesita ayuda. Escojo las clases que más me gustan.

I am looking for the secretary who knows French. She needs the book that explains this. There are some novels that interest me. There’s someone who needs assistance here. I pick those classes I like best (after checking them out).

• When the antecedent is not mentioned, adjective clauses are introduced by lo que (what...):

Haz lo que quieras. Haces exactamente lo que quieres.	Do what(ever) you (may) want. You do exactly what you want. (you know what it is)
No me importa lo que digan. No me importa lo que dicen.	I do not care what they (may) say. (whatever it is) I do not care about what they're saying. (I know what it is)

Note that, when the reference is unknown (subjunctive needed), English uses different ways to convey the vagueness of the antecedent, often translating lo que as "anything that, whatever".

• Indefiniteness or lack of restriction is often stressed by repeating the verb in subjunctive.

digan lo que digan hagas lo que hagas

no matter what (whatever) they say no matter what (whatever) you do

Ejercicio:

1. Tengo éxito gracias a la gente que me (apoya/apoye).

   2. Voy a tener éxito si encuentro gente que me (apoya/apoye).

   3. Necesitamos empleados que (conocen/conozcan) la tecnología.

   4. Tenemos empleados que (conocen/conozcan) la tecnología.

   5. Busca una persona que te (puede / pueda) ayudar.

   6. Conozco a una persona que te (puede / pueda) ayudar.

   7. ¿Hay algún restaurante que (sirve / sirva) comida hispana?

   8. Queremos un restaurante que (sirve / sirva) comida hispana.

   9. Queremos la casa que (tiene/ tenga) vista al mar.

   10. Vivimos en una casa que (tiene/ tenga) vista al mar.

para mÁs ejercicios y la pÁgina original pincha aquí

the Present Subjunctive in Noun Clauses

A noun clause is a group of words (containing a verb), which is the subject or object of the main clause verb:In the sentence "I demand that he be here", the words "that he be here" are the noun clause, object of the main verb "demand".

The subjunctive is used in a noun clause when the main verb expresses
influence (an indirect command), emotion, doubt, disbelief or denial.
Exijo que esté aquí. I demand that he be here.

• Spanish frequently uses the present subjunctive with a future meaning (the future subjunctive is no longer used):
Me alegra que haya clase mañana. I'm glad (that) there will be class tomorrow.
Note that the relative que cannot be ommitted as English often omits “that”.

A. INFLUENCE: After verbs expressing want, desire, hope, request, insistence, command, suggestion, etc., what is in the clause is like a command and must be in the subjunctive:

Espero que vayas. Te digo que lo hagas ahora. Insisto en que esté presente.

I expect you to go. Im telling you to do it now. I insist that he be present.

• English frequently uses a phrase with the infinitive to express indirect commands: "I want him to do it" etc. Spanish must use the subjunctive: Quiero que lo haga.

• If the verb in the main clause simply
reports a situation (usually with decir) perceived as real, use the indicative: Te digo que está lloviendo.I tell you that it is raining.

B. EMOTION: When the main verb expresses any
subjective attitudes (sorrow, surprise, anger, indifference, concern, hope), the verb in the noun clause must be in the
subjunctive:

Siento que no vayas. Me sorprende que Ud. no lo sepa. Es triste que no haga sol.

I am sorry that you're not going. It surprises me that you do not know it. It's sad it isn't sunny.

• With verbs of influence and emotion, use the infinitive if there is only one subject::

Quiero ir. Espero ir. Siento molestarte. Estamos felices de trabajar aquí.	I want to go. I hope to go. I'm sorry to disturb you. We're glad we work here.
BUT: Estamos felices de que trabajes aquí.	We're glad that you work here.

C. DOUBT, DISBELIEF or DENIAL: When the main verb expresses uncertainty or denies a previous statement, the verb in the noun clause should be in the subjunctive:

Doubt or Disbelief:	Dudo/No creo que vaya. No es posible que sea verdad. Es increíble que te vayas.	I doubt/I don't think I'm going. It's not possible that it is true. It's hard to believe you're leaving.
Denial:	No digo que sea tonto. Es falso que me moleste el ruido. No es cierto que haya marcianos.	I am not saying (that) he is stupid. It is false that noise disturbs me. It's not true that there are Martians.

• In general, creer, no dudar, ser verdad, and other expressions of conviction are not followed by the subjunctive, while no creer, dudar, no ser cierto, etc., are:
Creo que va a llover but No creo que llueva
In questions, the clause may not involve a subjunctive, depending on the doubt in the mind of the speaker:
¿Crees que va a llover? or ¿Crees que llueva?

Ojalá, whose form is invariable, meant originally something like "O to Allah" in Arabic and it is used to express a general wish or hope. It is always followed by the subjunctive:

Ojalá (que) vengan mañana. Ojalá no llueva.

I hope they come tomorrow. Hopefully it won't rain.

Ojalá may be used with or without que with no change in meaning.
See www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/ojala/cancion.html for a good practice on ojalá in a Dominican song.

 tal vez, quizás, quizá, which all mean perhaps, are followed by the subjunctive if the speaker wants to convey a considerable degree of doubt (que is not used here):

Tal vez llegue pronto. Quizás vamos al cine.

Perhaps he will arrive soon. (probably not) Maybe we'll go to the movies. (very possible)

Más ejercicios y la página original en el enlace.

The Forms of the Present Subjunctive / Las formas del presente del subjuntivo

	present indicative	PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
ayudar poner seguir	yo ayud-ø   yo pong-ø   yo sig-ø	ayude ayudes ayude ayudemos ayudéis ayuden ponga pongas ponga pongamos pongáis pongan siga sigas siga sigamos sigáis sigan

In order to form the present subjunctive, use the first person singular of the present indicative –the yo form–, remove the -o, and add endings in -e for -ar verbs, and endings in -a for -er and -ir verbs. This change of vowel may involve some spelling changes:
pag-ø  pague busc-ø  busque empiez-ø  empiece

• Stem-changing verbs in -ar and -er change their stems in the same way and in the same cases as in the present indicative:

piense vuelva

pienses vuelvas

piense vuelva

pensemos volvamos

penséis volváis

piensen vuelvan

• Stem-changing verbs in -ir, whatever the change that occurs in the present indicative, change the stem of thenosotros and vosotros forms of the present subjunctive from e to i and from o to u. (see complete rules.)

muera sienta pida

mueras sientas pidas

muera sienta pida

muramos sintamos pidamos

muráis sintáis pidáis

mueran sientan pidan

Only six verbs do not follow the rules above to form the present subjunctive:

ir  →  vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis vayan ser  →  sea seas sea seamos seáis sean estar  →  esté estés esté estemos estéis estén saber  →  sepa sepas sepa sepamos sepáis sepan haber  →  haya hayas haya hayamos hayáis hayan (subjunctive for hay) dar  →  dé des dé demos deis den

Subjunctive?

All the verbs we have studied so far have been in the Indicative Mood because they indicate states or actions that are presented as factual. The Subjunctive Mood is used, mostly in dependent clauses, after verbs that suggest non-factual events, such as indirect commands, doubts, subjective perception, etc. Compare the following two groups of sentences:

Presented as factual (indicative):	Desired, doubted (subjunctive):
I insist that he is here. Insisto en que está aquí.	I insist that he be here. Insisto en que esté aquí.
I believe he did it. Creo que lo hizo.	I demand that he do it. Exijo que lo haga.
I know he is here. Sé que está aquí.	I doubt he'll be here. Dudo que esté aquí.

práctica online y página original aquí.

Artículos de interés: debate

• Análisis visual de las elecciones catalanas del 27-S y el discurso de Urkullu en el Alderdi Eguna.

• Siete triunfos y siete escollos en la gestión de Rafael Correa

• Infografía sobre la migración en España y un artículo en el Mundo sobre el último aumento de la inmigración a España.

Debate - artículos interesantes

Para ayudaros en vuestra investigación, aquí tenéis varios artículos que os pueden ser interesantes;

Artículos sobre la independencia de Cataluña en El País y en eldiario.es.

Artículos sobre inmigración en eldiaro.es y en El Mundo.es

Artículos sobre Rafael Correa y las elecciones del 2017 en El Universo, El Universal, La Hora y  El Ecuador Times (en inglés en el NYT)

Almodóvar

Presentación con las mejores películas de Almodóvar:

Trailer de la película Volver:

Periódicos y televisiones españolas

Toda la prensa en español internacional aquí.

Periódicos nacionales de derechas;
http://www.abc.es/
http://www.elmundo.es/
http://www.larazon.es/

Periódicos nacionales de centro;
http://www.elpais.es/
http://www.elconfidencialdigital.com/

Periódicos nacionales de izquierdas:
http://www.eldiario.es/
http://www.publico.es/
https://www.diagonalperiodico.net/

Periódicos regionales/nacionales vascos;
http://www.elcorreo.com/
http://www.naiz.eus/

Televisiones;
RTVE (La primera, la dos, telenoticias 24h, teledeporte)
Antena 3
TV3 (TV de Cataluña)
La Cuatro
Telecinco
La Sexta
EITB (TV Vasca)

Los derechos humanos

Pregunta para la próxima clase; Los derechos humanos, ¿Son naturales o creados por el hombre?

The Passive Voice / La voz pasiva

A. SER + PAST PARTICIPLE

The passive voice is formed in Spanish in the same way as in English, with the appropriate form of the verb ser and the past participle (which, as an adjective, must agree in gender and number with the subject). The agent, if mentioned, comes after the preposition por.:

Este libro es leído por todo el mundo. Las rosas fueron compradas por la niña. La ventana fue rota por la policía.

This book is read by everyone. The roses were bought by the girl. The window was broken by the police.

For use of estar with past participle, see §25.
To review the forms of the past participle, see §26.

B. PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS USING SE

• Spanish avoids the passive with ser when the agent of the action is unknown or irrelevant. The most common way of expressing a passive idea in Spanish –that something happens, but without expressing who in particular does it–, is by using se with a verb in the third person:

Aquí se habla español. Se necesita tener paciencia. Se come bien en Francia. ¿Se puede viajar sin visa? Ese modelo ya no se usa.

Spanish is spoken here. You need to be patient. One eats / People eat well in France. Is it possible to travel without a visa? That model is not used (in use) anymore.

• When the subject (modelo in the above example) is plural, the verb must be plural:

Esos modelos ya no se usan. Se venden camisas en esta tienda. En América no se conocían los caballos.

Those models are not used anymore. Shirts are sold in this store. Horses were not known in America.

• Similar to English, Spanish can also use an impersonal They..., without the subject pronoun:

Allá no respetan los derechos humanos. Firmaron el acuerdo esta mañana. O: El acuerdo se firmó esta mañana.

They don't respect human rights there. They signed the agreement this morning. The agreement was signed this morning.

 C. SE + INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS (SE ME, SE LES, ETC.)

• The passive se may be followed by an indirect object pronoun indicating the person who undergoes the action of the verb (to whom?):

Se le mandaron flores (a ella). Se les ofreció el trabajo (a ellos). No se me dijo eso (a mí).

Flowers were sent to her. (She was sent flowers) The job was offered to them. (They were offered...) That wasn't told to me. (I wasn't told that).

These examples illustrate the common "false passive" in English, that is, a construction that uses the indirect object (to whom?) as the subject: "She was sent flowers"; "They were offered the job";“I was told”.
 The passive with ser won’t work for this type of constructions. Use se and indirect object pronouns instead, being careful to always use the verb in the third person:
We were given directions. Se nos dieron instrucciones.
You were told what to do. Se te dijo qué hacer.

• The combination of se + indirect object pronoun (se me, se te, se le[s], se nos, etc.) is also used to express ideas such as losing, breaking, forgetting and dropping, when not deliberate, underlying that something happened by accident. The passive se indicates that the event was involuntary; the object pronouns refer to the person(s) affected by the event; and the verb uses the third person singular or plural to agree with the things lost, broken, forgotten, etc. Examples:

By accident	Somewhat deliberate:
Se le rompieron dos costillas. He broke two ribs (by accident).	Rompió su promesa. He broke his promise.
Se les perdió la llave. They lost their key.	Perdieron el partido. They lost the game (match).
Se me cayó el libro. I dropped the book.	Caí en una trampa. I fell into a trap.
Se te olvidó mi dirección. You forgot my address.	Olvidaste tus malos recuerdos. You forgot your bad memories.
Se nos acabó la gasolina. We ran out of gas.	Acabamos el trabajo. We finished the paper (or the job).

Página original y ejercicios online aquí.

Franco y la España Fascista

Documental sobre Francisco Franco Bahamonde y su ascenso al poder en España.
Aquí puedes ver el powerpoint con la presentación y aquí la hoja de ejercicios.(worksheet)

George Orwell, las Brigadas Internacionales y la Guerra Civil

George Orwell´s diary from his participation on the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Ken Loach´s film inspired by George Orwell´s experience

BBC series of documentaries on George Orwell, chapter 3; Homage to Catalonia

Todavía, aún, ya (no)

• The adverbs todavía and aún both mean still/yet, and can be placed before or after the verb:
Le parecía imposible que estuviera lloviendo todavía (aún).
It seemed impossible to him/her that it was still raining.
Aún (todavía) no había comenzado a nevar cuando ocurrió el accidente.
It hadn't started snowing yet when the accident happened.

 Note: Only before or after comparisons (más, menor, peor, etc.), can even be translated as todavía or aún:
Es aún mejor de lo que pensaba. It's even better than I thought.

 Keep in mind that English still and yet are also conjunctions meaning however or but. In these cases other Spanish expressions must be used, such as sin embargo, con todo, pero, mas:
She's smart, yet selfish Es lista, pero egoísta.

• Ya has several uses, but its most common meanings are already and now for affirmative sentences, and not anymore for negative sentences. It's usually placed before the verb:

Ya vuelvo / regreso. Ya se les habrá olvidado. Ya han devuelto los libros. Ya almorcé / Ya he almorzado. Ya no les gusta bailar. Ya no nos quejaremos (más).

I'll be right back; I'm coming back right now. They will (may) have forgotten by now. They have returned the books already. I('ve) already had lunch. They don't like dancing anymore. We won't complain anymore.

Ejercicios y página original aquí.

Both, All, Every / Ambos, todos, cada

• Todo/a/s and ambos/as must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify or replace:

Va a llover toda la primavera. Todos los problemas son fáciles. Todos cometemos errores. Ambos días hizo sol. Ambas fueron semanas de lluvia.

It's going to rain all (the whole) spring. All (of the) problems are easy. All of us (we all) make mistakes. It was sunny on both (of the) days. They were both rainy weeks.

• ambos is never accompanied by articles:
ambas ciudades both of the cities

• A common equivalent of ambos is los dos:
Ambos conocemos Panamá y Caracas, y las dos hace calor.
Both of us know Panama and Caracas, and both of them are hot.

• Subject pronouns can be used after todos (not after ambos or los dos):
Todas ellas saben nadar. All of them know how to swim.

 Note that todo/a/s and ambos/as are never followed by the preposition de.

• Todos often translates into "every" in the sense of "all the":

todos los días todas las clases Sé todo lo que hiciste este verano.

every day all of the classes I know everything (that) you did this summer.

• When stressing individuality (each), "every" translates into cada:
Conoce cada detalle del cuento. She knows every detail of the story.
Llamó a cada uno por su nombre. He called each one by their names.
“Every other” is expressed by cada dos: cada dos años, cada dos días.

 Both...and is tanto...como (no gender or number). Never use ambos for both...and:
Tenemos clases tanto los lunes como los miércoles.
We have classes both on Mondays and on Wednesdays.

ejercicios y página original aquí.

Serrat - Machado: Cantares

Haz click aquí para descargar la hoja de trabajo sobre Machado, Serrat y el final de la Guerra Civil.

Pronouns After a Preposition / Los pronombres después de preposición

	pronouns		pronouns
para sin a con por	mí ti usted él ella	contra hacia detrás de sobre entre	nosotros/as vosotros/as ustedes ellos ellas

• Note that, with the exception of mí and ti (no accent mark), these are identical to the subject pronouns (§5):
Voy sin ti. ¡Esto es para nosotros! No quiso salir con ella.

• After a preposition, the English pronoun "it" can be expressed by eso when it refers to an idea, and by él or ellawhen referring to a specific object whose gender is clear:
Quería hablar con usted sobre eso. (about it)
Necesita su sombrero: no puede vivir sin él. (without it)
  never use lo or la as pronouns to express "it" after a preposition; use eso, él or ella.

• The reflexive form is sí, referring back to the subject (see also §40):
Están luchando entre sí. (among themselves)

• Con followed by mí, ti or sí forms conmigo, contigo, and consigo:
Está jugando conmigo.   ¿No quiso ir contigo?   Hablaba consigo (con él mismo)

For original website and online exercises, click here.

Subjunctive in Adverb Clauses / El subjuntivo en cláusulas adverbiales

Adverb clauses modify the verb in the main clauses. They say something about how, when, where or why that action occurs, and are always introduced by a conjunction:

(indicative) main clause	conjunction	(indicative or subjunctive) adverbial clause
Siempre me siento feliz I always feel happy	cuando when	me llamas. you call me.
Hoy preparé la salsa Today I made the sauce	como the way	a ti te gusta. you like it.

The subjunctive is used in adverb clauses when the action described in the clause
is anticipated or hypothetical (a reservation, a condition not yet met, a mere intention).

Here's a list of the most common conjunctions introducing adverb clauses:

Conjunctions of provision		Subjunctive?
a menos que	unless	always followed by the subjunctive
antes (de) que* con tal (de) que* en caso de que* para que* sin que*	before provided that in case so that, in order that without	always followed by the subjunctive*
Conjunctions of time
después (de) que* hasta que* tan pronto como /en cuanto mientras (que) siempre que cuando	after until as soon as while, as long as whenever, as long as when	use the subjunctive for anticipated circumstances (a future occurrence not yet met)
Conjunctions of condition
aunque a pesar de que como, según donde	although, even if in spite of, despite that as, in any way where, wherever	use the subjunctive for anticipated, hypothetical, or irrelevant circumstances (unknown at the moment)
* With these conjunctions, use the infinitive if there's only one subject (que not used): Voy a comer antes de salir. I'm eating before leaving (I eat, I leave)

No puedes ganar a menos que te apoyen. Se fue antes de que yo hablara con ella. Traje sombrero en caso de que haga sol. Trabaja para que su hijo pueda viajar. No puedes irte sin que hablemos primero. Cierre la puerta después de que salga. No quería esperar hasta que terminaras. Voy a regresar en cuanto caiga la noche. Cuando llegues, vas a sentirte mejor. Vamos a pescar aunque llueva mañana. Hazlo como quieras.

You can't win unless they support you. She went away before I could talk to her. I brought a hat in case it is sunny. She works so that her son can travel. You cannot leave without us talking first. Close the door after you leave. He didn't want to wait until you were done. I am going back as soon as the night falls. When you arrive, you'll feel better. We're going fishing even if it may rain tomorrow. Do it any way you want (as you please).

• Note that the conjunctions como, cuando and donde, unlike question words, do not have accents.

• sin que and a clause must be used in Spanish where English often uses a phrase such as "without us seeing him." Spanish must say: "sin que lo veamos / sin que lo viéramos".

• de la manera que, del modo que, are common equivalents of como, especially in writing:
Hazlo de la manera que te indiqué, o del modo que quieras.
Do it the way I showed you, or anyway you (may) want.

• para que has a variety of equivalent expressions that convey the idea of “so that”, “in order that”: a fin de que, con el objeto/propósito de que, con la intención de que.

• Use the indicative if time conjunctions do not refer to the future (actions in the past or in progress, known facts, habits):

Cuando llegaste, ¿te sentiste mejor? Esperó hasta que terminaste. Nos llama siempre que se siente solo. Está viendo la película mientras comemos.

When you arrived, did you feel better? (past) He waited until you were done. (past) He calls us whenever he feels lonely. (known fact) He is watching the movie while we eat. (in progress)

• The indicative follows aunque, como, según and donde to acknowledge a known place or fact:

Vamos a pescar aunque está lloviendo. Hazlo como te indiqué. Lo hice según indican las instrucciones. Vimos el campo donde luchó Bolívar.

We're going fishing even though it's raining. Do it the (specific) way I showed you. I did it as the directions (which I read) indicate. We saw the field where Bolívar fought.

Exercises and original page here.

Por vs. Para

A. PARA (destination or purpose):

1. Direction toward a destination or goal:

Salgo mañana para Madrid. Vamos para la oficina.

I am leaving tomorrow for Madrid. We're going to the office.

2. Purpose, use, goal or destination toward a recipient:

taza para café coffee cup Había espacio para todos. Estudié medicina para ayudar. Practican para mejorar. Compró estos libros para ti. Trabaja para la OTAN.

llantas para la nieve snowtires There was room for everybody. I studied medicine in order to help. They practice to improve. He bought these books for you. She works for NATO.

3. Time limit or deadline:

Hay que hacerlo para el lunes.

It needs to be done by/for Monday.

4. Comparison against the normal expectation:

Tiene una gran población para un país tan pequeño. It has a large population for such a small country.

Para ser extranjero, habla muy bien el idioma. For a foreigner, he speaks the language very well.

5. Opinion: "To me..."

Para mí, la política es interesante. La vida es valiosa para cualquiera.

To me, politics is interesting. Life is valuable to anyone.

 Use para in Spanish whenever you could use "in order to" in English. For example:

(in order) To improve, people have to do this. I do it (in order) to have fun. I do it to improve. BUT: It's not easy to improve this. (you couldn’t insert “in order to” here)

Para mejorar, hay que hacer esto. Lo hago para divertirme. Lo hago para mejorar. No es fácil mejorar esto.

B. POR (motivation or substitution):

1. Exchange, substitution, rate, correspondence (per):

Te doy cinco dólares por el libro. Gracias por todo. No me tomes por idiota. a veinte kilómetros por hora el diez por ciento $3 por galón.

I'll give you five dollars for the book. Thanks for everything. Don't take me for an idiot. twenty kilometers an hour ten percent $3 per gallon

2.  a. Cause, reason, or motive of an action (because of, to fetch):

Lo merece por su dedicación. Fuimos al mercado por pan. Te quería por tu honestidad. No jugaron por la lluvia.

He deserves it for (because of) his dedication. We went to the store for bread. I loved you for your honesty. They didn’t play because of the rain.

b. On behalf of, for the sake of, in favor of, out of:

Lo hice por el dinero. No lo hago por ti. Se preocupan por mí. Luchan por la independencia. Trabajaba por la paz mundial. A menudo me pregunta por ti.

I did it for the money. I'm not doing it on your account. They worry about me. They fight for independence. She worked for world peace. He often asks about you.

3. Duration in time (often omitted):
Estuvo en México (por) seis semanas.He was (stayed) in Mexico for six weeks.During the morning, evening, or afternoon:Trabajaba por la mañana.He used to work in the morning.

4. Movement through a place:

Iba por la calle cuando... Pasa por mi oficina. Vamos a pasear por el parque.

I was going down the street... Drop by my office. We are going to take a walk through/by the park.

5. Agent in a passive phrase (by):

Fue escrito por ella. Está afectada por la noticia.

It was written by her. She's affected by the news.

6. Means of transportation or communication (by):

El paquete llegó por avión. Llámame por teléfono.

The package arrived by plane. Call me on the telephone.

7. In a large number of idiomatic expressions:

por fin por ejemplo por desgracia por supuesto por eso por aquí

finally, at last for example unfortunately of course that's why around here

por lo menos por favor por primera vez por casualidad por otra parte por lo tanto

at least please for the first time by (any) chance on the other hand therefore

 The questions ¿para qué? (for what purpose?) and ¿por qué? (for what reason or motive?) can give you clues on choosing the appropriate preposition. Both prepositions will often be grammatically correct, but they would convey different meanings:

Recibimos dinero por la investigación. I got money from the research (done). [exchange]	Recibimos dinero para la investigación. I got money for the research (to do). [purpose]
Compré esto por ti. I bought this because you wanted me to. [motive]	Compré esto para ti. I bought this to give it to you. [destination]

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Los reflexivos

A. USE OF REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS / USO DE LOS PRONOMBRES REFLEXIVOS

singular: plural:

me nos

te os

se se

Me encontré en un problema.	I found myself in trouble.
Ella se cuida.	She takes care of herself.
Nos estamos vistiendo. Estamos vistiéndonos.	} We are dressing (ourselves).
No se quisieron ver. No quisieron verse.	} They refused to see each other (or themselves).

Reflexives are placed in the same position as other object pronouns: immediately before a conjugated verb, or joined to the end of a gerund or infinitive.

The plural reflexive pronouns may mean either themselves or each other. Logic will normally indicate which is intended; a sentence such as Se escriben is more likely to mean "they write to each other" than "they write to themselves".  If it is important to make clear which is meant, insert the adverb mutuamente or variations of entre sí, entre vosotros, entre nosotros, uno al otro, una a la otra, unas a las otras, etc.:

Se recuerdan a sí mismos. Se recuerdan uno al otro. Se recuerdan entre sí.

They remind themselves. They remember one another. They remember/remind each other.

Spanish uses reflexive pronouns more frequently than English does.  Whereas, for example, English says "I dressed," Spanish must say "I dressed myself" making it clear that the action is directed back at the subject. Here is a list of some common verbs used frequently with a reflexive pronoun. Nearly all of these verbs may be used as transitive verbswith other direct objects such as "I dressed the children", "I woke them up", etc., obviously without a reflexive pronoun.

acostarse (ue) casarse (con) despertarse (ie) divertirse (ie) levantarse sentarse (ie) vestirse (i)

to go to bed, to lie down to get married (to) to wake up to have fun, enjoy oneself to get up to sit down to get dressed

Me levanté temprano. Acosté a los niños a las diez y yo me acosté más tarde. Divirtió mucho a sus compañeros; todos se divirtieron. Se bañó y también bañó al perro.

I got up early. I put the children to bed at ten and I went to bed later. He amused his classmates a lot; they all enjoyed themselves. She bathed (herself.) and she bathed the dog, too.

Verbs with a reflexive pronoun are not to be confused with verbs like gustar,which take indirect object pronouns (See §39):
Verbs like gustar (indirect object pronoun):	Verbs using reflexive pronouns:
Me gustó la fiesta. Le fascinaban las estrellas. Nos encanta la mañana. Les interesa la astronomía.	Me divertí en la fiesta. Se acostaba bajo las estrellas. Nos levantamos por la mañana. Se interesan en la astronomía.

 B. VERBS USED REFLEXIVELY / VERBOS PRONOMINALES

There are a considerable number of verbs whose meanings change when used reflexively, although many can be used as transitive verbs, too. An interesting case is sentir, to feel, which takes a reflexive pronoun with adjectives andadverbs (se siente alegre, se siente bien), but not otherwise (siente alegría). Here are some other verbs (see alsoAppendix C):

comunicarse (con) dormirse (ue) enamorarse (de) esforzarse (por) (ue) irse llevarse preocuparse (por) quedarse quejarse (de) reunirse (con)

to communicate (with) (comunicar: to communicate something) to go to sleep (dormir: to sleep) to fall in love (with) (enamorar: to seduce) to make an effort to (only used reflexively) to go away, leave (ir: to go somewhere) to carry off something (llevar: to carry somewhere) to be worried (about) (preocupar: to worry someone) to stay (quedar: to remain, to be or have left). to complain (about) (only used reflexively) to get together in a meeting (reunir: to gather something)

Se quieren comunicar contigo. ¿Vas a irte sin quejarte? Se enamoraron del perrito. Nos esforzábamos por entender. Dormí poco esta semana.	They want to get in touch with you. Are you leaving without complaining? They fell in love with the little dog. We were making an effort to understand. I didn’t sleep much this week.
Se van a quedar en San José porque no les queda tiempo.
They are going to stay in San José because they don’t have any time left.  C. TO BECOME: HACERSE, PONERSE, VOLVERSE... verb used with suggests hacerse mostly nouns effort for status or gradual transformation ponerse adjectives only temporary change in emotional or physical state volverse adjectives or nouns a more lasting change in emotional or physical state convertirse (ie) en transformarse en nouns only a lasting, objective transformation Se hizo abogado. Su vida se hizo intensa. Se pusieron pálidos y furiosos. Me puse triste. El tema se puso / se volvió difícil. La vida se volvió una pesadilla. Su casa se convirtió en un hotel. Los problemas se convierten en oportunidades. “Hispania” se transformó en “España”. He became a lawyer. His life got intense. They got pale and angry. I got sad. The topic became difficult. Life turned into a nightmare. Their house became a hotel. Problems become opportunities. “Hispania” became “Spain”. The Spanish equivalent of to become or to get + adjective is often a reflexive verb. Some common examples (see also quedarse): alegrarse cansarse darse cuenta de enojarse enfermar(se) independizarse prepararse volverse loco to become glad, happy to get tired to realize (become aware of) to get angry to get sick to become (get) independent to get prepared, get ready to go mad  D. REFLEXIVE FOR POSSESSION Spanish avoids the use of possessive adjectives with parts of the body, clothing, and personal items. Just use the definite article. Also, indirect object pronouns are often used to point in the direction of the person concerned: Va a traer el carro. Lo va a traer. Le quitaron la bolsa (a Carmen). Le duele la cabeza. Le duele. She is bringing her car. She's bringing it. They took her (Carmen's) purse away. Her head hurts. It hurts. When the action is directed toward oneself, a reflexive pronoun is used: Me lavé las manos.   Me las lavé hace rato. Se golpeó la pierna.   Se la golpeó al entrar. ¿Te quitaste los lentes? I washed my hands. I washed them a while ago. She hit her leg. She hit it while entering. Did you take off your eyeglasses/lenses?

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